Ecology club takes honors at state competition

Niles students rank high in several categories.

Niles students rank high in several categories.

June 09, 2006|DAWN FRASIEUR Tribune Correspondent

When Eira McDaniel joined Indiana's first high school ecology club in 1971, she couldn't have known how interest in the environment would grow. She also didn't know she'd one day be a high school science teacher herself, the faculty sponsor (since 1994) for the Niles High School Ecology Club, and the mom of one of its active members. McDaniel is just as excited about the club now as she was when she was a teenager. And her student club members are competitive. Just attending the Tenth Annual Michigan Envirothon is a big accomplishment for all three of the teams participating, she said, since they had to qualify for the honor by placing well in regional competitions. Then the Fighting Bananas -- Heather Croteau, Derrick Lingle, Hilary Landgraf and Ashley Holloway -- placed second in the state in Soils/Geology, second in Sustainable Agriculture. The Taekwandodos placed first in the state in the Forestry division. Representing the Taekwandodos were Jeff Hoida, Sam McDaniel, Bobby Nash and Ryan Lingle. The Michigan Envirothon 2006 was May 9 through 11, at Camp Grayling, an Army and Air National Guard training center. "We ate in the mess hall and stayed in Army barracks," said NHS freshman Gina VanGilder, who like all the other girls attending, liked the accommodations just fine. "We had carpeting and bunk beds with nice fluffy pillows and mattresses. It was really a nice experience." The boys, on the other hand, experienced it just a bit differently. "Our mattresses were all the way down to the springs," explained freshman Ryan Lingle. "We had to bring our own sleeping bags and the pillows were not fluffy. We had cement floors, and their were spitwads all over the ceiling!" The state competition begins with four hours of outdoors, hands-on teaching in subject areas. In the forestry seminar Nash attended, for example, seminar leaders "played bird calls, and you had to see if you knew which ones they were," and worked on other skills like tree identification. Sam McDaniel worked on technical calculations all morning -- just the way he likes it. "I like math, and I'm good at it," he said. In his seminar, students figured out the board square feet a tree would yield using Biltmore sticks (a traditional method of measuring tree diameters, heights and volumes) and measured the heights of trees using a clinometer. "You stand 60 feet back from the tree, look through it, record the angles from the bottom and top and add them." Later, competitive events included hands-on and written tests in seven categories (including wildlife, sustainable agriculture and energy) as well as Community Outreach Project reports. Nash said students were tested on everything from testing soils to tree identification outside. Lingle enjoyed the hands-on test in the Aquatics division. "You take some water from the lake and identify the bugs in it," he said. "Then you have to figure out how clean it is based on what you found. "The more oxygen in the water, the more organisms can live in it." Multiple-choice written tests covered a range of topics, including organic farming practices and clues to soil health. Teams also gave formal reports. "We have to make a presentation -- everyone has to talk -- on our community project," said freshman Gina VanGilder, a member of the Arbor Amores, along with Amber Conley, Corissa Clinard and Max Keller. Her team explained the pond area they had created in the school courtyard -- truly a community project. "Mrs. McDaniel bought the lining and the rocks, Ryan's family donated the trees and the Niles Garden Club gave us some flowers," said VanGilder. The Taekwandodos worked this year to address a problem they've seen near Oak Manor school, the backyard burning of leaves, something they believe contributes to air pollution in Niles. "We held a composting class for fifth-graders," Sam McDaniel said. Added Hoida, "We brought in sawdust, worms, water and leaves and taught them how to make mini-compost." The Fighting Bananas took on Island Park in Niles this year. They spent time cleaning it up, planting and labeling trees, and pulling invasive garlic mustard. The Envirothon wasn't just about science, though. Hoida liked playing volleyball on the beach; VanGilder "had fun skipping stones on the lake" with her friends. Strengthening friendships was, as always, a big part of the fun. "I liked hanging out," said VanGilder. "I didn't really know all the members of the club well. I liked just talking to the team in the cafeteria." "I didn't know any of these guys when I joined," said Clinard. "It was really fun to go up to Grayling with them -- and miss a couple of days of school together!"